D-Streetís bet on repo cut lifts Sensex

SummaryThe index settled at 17,332.62, up 133.22 points, or 0.77 per cent.

Dalal Street witnessed a bull rally on Thursday amidst renewed investor hopes that the Reserve Bank of India may cut lending rates at its annual monetary policy meeting next week.

The BSE Sensex opened the day higher at 17,276.87 and shot up further to 17,395.15 as market players bet on a 25 basis points cut in repo rate following the dip in industrial production growth rate. The index settled at 17,332.62, up 133.22 points, or 0.77 per cent.The NSE 50-issue Nifty rose by 50 points or 0.96 per cent to end at 5,276.85. Bargain hunting in bluechips at lower levels and firm global markets also added to the bullish sentiment.

The market speculated that the slower-than-expected rise in industrial production at 4.1 per cent in February as against 6.7 per cent year-on-year would prompt the RBI to cut rates.